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Air purifiers have become welcomed additions to homes, greatly improving the indoor environment of your household. There are five major types of air purifiers, each handling the different types of indoor pollutants to varying degrees of efficiency. These are: HEPA air cleaners, ionic air cleaners, activated carbon air purifiers, ozone air purifiers and ultraviolet light purifiers.

HEPA air cleaners are the most common type and are well suited for trapping allergens. The designation HEPA, is defined as a filter that is able to contain particles as small as 0.3 microns and will catch at least 99.97% of pollutants as small as that. HEPA air purifier systems are commonly seen in hospital settings. They have filters which must be replaced regularly, normally about twice per year, although some filters can go several years between replacements. HEPA air cleaners are not effective for the removal of cigarette smoke, fumes, gases or odors, and for this reason sometimes a carbon filter is also combined in HEPA air purifiers.

Ionic air purifiers are capable of removing the tiniest of particles from the largest of indoor spaces. Ionic air purifiers are often referred to as electronic air cleaners. They do their job by sending out a positive charge into the air. The charged air is then drawn into the unit by being attracted to the collection blades which have been negatively charged. This allows the electronic cleaners to operate silently because they do not rely on noisy fans to circulate the air.

Ionic air cleaners are also well suited to remove particulates in the air, but they use no filters. Instead, the charged particles adhere to the collection blades, which can then be easily wiped down to clean them of the captured contaminates.

Activated carbon purifiers are most effective for removing odors, smoke, gases and chemical residue from the air. These air purifier filters have tiny pores that are able to absorb and chemically react with the pollutants as they are carried through the filter. This process causes the contaminants to bond with the carbon in this chemical reaction, trapping them and eliminating them from the atmosphere. Because carbon room air purifiers can't trap allergens and bacteria, they are commonly combined with HEPA air purifiers.

An ozone air purifier is able to eliminate odors, smoke and gases, but does not trap the particulates and allergens in the air. Ozone purifiers are capable of eliminating deep, problematic odors, such as pet urine from carpeting, and the ozone can destroy mold and kill bacteria. Ozone is somewhat controversial for home use and some experts recommend that those with asthma should use caution around ozone. Some air purifiers on the market combine the ozone purification with the ionic air purification. The combination of these two methods results in a high-tech way to eliminate odors, smoke, gases and also airborne particulate matter.

Ultraviolet light air purifier systems are able to destroy bacteria, but they are not capable of removing allergens, fumes, smoke or odors form the air. UV air purifier units treat the air with an ultraviolet light as it moves through the purifier, killing germs, viruses and bacteria as soon as they are exposed to the UV light. This purification method is also often combined with HEPA filters in the same unit to trap the particulate material in the air as well.

It seems that currently the ionic air purification devices are the favorite in the marketplace, or at least in terms of advertising money spent to promote them. However, the best air purifier will be largely dependent on the situation in your home and the issues you need to address. As of this time, there is no single unit that combines all the different technologies in air purification. Since they each address different concerns, take some time to look beyond the advertising hype and compare features, benefits and value.

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